SlateStone Wealth LLC Increases Stock Position in Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN)

SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Linde plc (NASDAQ:LIN) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,382 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in Linde were worth $1,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LIN. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Linde during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 1,160.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 63 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Linde by 144.8% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 71 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of Linde in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.80% of the company’s stock.

Linde Trading Up 0.5 %

Linde stock opened at $455.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $215.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.47, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.76. Linde plc has a 1 year low of $410.69 and a 1 year high of $487.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $448.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $454.91.

Linde (NASDAQ:LIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $3.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.93 by $0.04. Linde had a net margin of 19.89% and a return on equity of 18.71%. On average, equities analysts predict that Linde plc will post 16.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Linde Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $1.50 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. This is a boost from Linde’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.39. Linde’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert L. Wood sold 2,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $456.26, for a total value of $1,323,154.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,013 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,393,571.38. The trade was a 17.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP David P. Strauss sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $434.35, for a total transaction of $963,388.30. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 25,926 shares in the company, valued at $11,260,958.10. This represents a 7.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,377 shares of company stock worth $6,567,231. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LIN. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Linde from $490.00 to $480.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen raised shares of Linde from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $480.00 to $515.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Linde in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $501.82.

Linde Company Profile

Linde plc operates as an industrial gas company in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and South Pacific. It offers atmospheric gases, including oxygen, nitrogen, argon, and rare gases; and process gases, such as carbon dioxide, helium, hydrogen, electronic gases, specialty gases, and acetylene.